The Misadventure
by Sara Minks
Summary: The _______s are found dead (not the Dursleys!), and Harry is the prime suspect, with strong evidence against him; if only he could remember where he was when the crime took place. Self-doubt, suspicion, and terror reign as the world turns upside down.
1. The Discovery

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, but I do own the plot- just one question.  Who started this trend of Disclaimers?  No one that I know of is getting money off their fics..._

The _______s are found dead (_not the Dursleys!), and Harry is the prime suspect, with strong evidence against him.  He would be found innocent- if only he could remember where he was when the crime took place.  Self-doubt, suspicion, and terror reign as the world turns upside down- for more than just Harry Potter._

**Chapter 1**

**The Discovery**

A loud explosion in the early morning shattered the muggy silence that surrounded Privet Drive, a typically quiet street in Little Whinging, Surrey.  The fog around the area was so thick that, even if a curious neighbor had looked out of their window to try to catch a glimpse of what was going on, it made it impossible to see even 5 centimeters in front of their nose.  Thus, no one called the police to inform them of this disturbance of the peace.  Had there been no fog, however, one little old lady would have been seen walking slowly up the street, take a long look at Number 2, then Number 4, Privet Drive, and then walk slowly back to her house nearby.  As it turns out, no one even bothered about it until much later in the day, when the morning fog had cleared and they could see things a little clearer.

Harry moaned in his sleep as he fell off the broomstick he had been riding on, and started rolling over in his bed as the wand he had been carrying in his pocked at the time of flight started prodding him in the side.  All of a sudden, the wand had a mouth, and it flew out of his pocket, still prodding, and started calling to him as well.  Quietly, first, but it grew louder and louder.

"Harry… Harry, you must wake up.  Come on, Harry, wake up."  Harry sprung from his bed to a sitting position, still half asleep, hitting something hard in the head on his way.  "Oh, honestly, Harry.  Come on then."  He reached out to his nightstand to grab his glasses, and was suddenly very wide awake.  He had expected the Dursleys- but now that he thought about it, no, he hadn't.  That voice had been too kind.  Instead, he saw the last person he expected.  It was Mrs. Figg, his neighbor, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing witch's robes and a hat, and who had been trying to coax him out of sleep.  She was now rubbing her head, which seemed to prove that the hard something Harry's head had hit was indeed another human.  At first he was confused.  And then it clicked.

"_You're the Arabella Figg Dumbledore was talking about last year!  I __knew there was something familiar about that name!"_

She chuckled, but had a very serious look in her eyes.  "_Professor Dumbledore, Harry.  Nice to see you too, but now we have got to leave._

"But the Dursleys…"

"Come.  I'll explain later.  But you must follow me now.  Here, grab onto my arm."  Harry did so and suddenly felt himself being split into a trillion pieces- except it didn't hurt at all.  It was quite an out-of-body experience; about one second later, he found himself in Mrs. Figg's familiar living room- but now Harry saw it from a new perspective.  

"Ah, just one question, Mrs. Figg.  What's with all the cats?"

"Actually, they're half Kneazle*.  (A/N- I did not make Kneazles up- check bottom of page for description)  They make very reliable pets.  But aren't you more curious about why I dragged you from your bed?"

"Well, yes, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask.  A lot of weird stuff has happened to me, and it's not always-"

"Harry, you must listen to me.  Something bad has happened around here.  Did you hear anything perchance this morning?"

"No… why, what happened?"

"Your neighbors, the Harrises-"

"Oh, is that their name?  I never knew-"

"Honestly, Harry, can you let me speak without interrupting?"

"Sorry."

"Harry, your neighbors are dead.  There was some sort of explosion this morning, and the police were called.  They found them unmarked, but dead.  The Ministry came in soon after and is currently modifying memories.  Harry, they were killed by a wizard."

"_What?!"_

"The Ministry will probably be around soon to ask us questions- since we are the only wizards or witches in the area.  However, that means my cover will be blown-"

"Cover?"

"Yes, Harry, cover!  Why do you think I've been posing as a muggle?  To protect you!  But if there's anyone- unfriendly- watching, they'll know I'm here too."

"Wait- you've been here to protect _me?"_

"Honestly, Harry, use your head!  You're not making this any easier!" Harry was a bit taken aback, but didn't say anything as the witch continued.  "I brought you here to warn you.  Now, I'll take you back, and just answer the Ministry as honestly as you can, all right?"  

With that, she grabbed his arm and he found himself, again, in his room- she, however, left just as soon, and as Harry jumped into bed, he heard banging at his door.  He tried to look sleepy but failed as three Ministry wizards entered the room.  

"Mr. Potter, we'd like to ask you a few questions.  This man here-" at this point they pushed Mr. Dursley into the room, with a glazed look in his eye as if he didn't know what was going on- "has just said that, this morning, he heard an explosion, and when he came to _your room to tell __you to keep it down, you were not in your bed, nor were you anywhere in the house.  What do you say to this?"_

_*"The Kneazle was originally bred in Britain, though it is now exported worldwide.  A small catlike creature with flecked, speckled, or spotted fur, outsize ears, and a tail like a lion's, the Kneazle is intelligent, independent, and occasionally aggressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it make an excellent pet.  The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost.  Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can interbreed with cats.  Licences are required for ownership as (like Crups and Fwoopers) Kneazles are sufficiently unusual in appearance to attract Muggle interest." P. 24-25 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.*_

(A/N- what do you think?  It gets better- please review!  Tell me if it's worth continuing….)

Sara Minks


	2. The Inquisition

_Disclaimer: Hahahahahaha!!!!  I'm rich!  I'm selling this story and there's nothing you can do about it!  And if you try to stop me, I'll just wave the nickel in your face!  Mwahahahahahaha!!  *sees scary men ringing doorbell* Er… Did I say sell?  I meant… Oh well, it stinks I can't sell this, by golly gee.  Ok I'll stop rambling now… I'll bet no one even read this…_

The _______s are found dead (_not the Dursleys!), and Harry is the prime suspect, with strong evidence against him.  He would be found innocent- if only he could remember where he was when the crime took place.  Self-doubt, suspicion, and terror reign as the world turns upside down- for more than just Harry Potter._

**Chapter 2**

**The Inquisition**

"You have got to be kidding."

"Eh," the wizard looked confused.  "Is that your final answer?" (A/N - Ok, ok, I know, I know, but it fit.  :-D)

"I've been sleeping all night!  I don't know what he's talking about!"  Harry glared at Mr. Dursley for the first time since the wizards had arrived.  He couldn't understand what was going on.  And why wasn't his uncle going ballistic at the sight of all this abnormalcy?  But then he saw the look in his eyes, and the first thought he had was 'He's been put under a spell.  That's why he said all that'.  The Ministry wizard, seeing where Harry's eyes went, told him- he was under Veritaserum.

"We tried to talk to him the normal way, but he started yelling at us and threatening us.  We thought this might be safer, in," he hesitated, looking at Harry, "All cases." 

This news shocked Harry.  He couldn't believe it!  His uncle was under Veritaserum, and- wait, did Veritaserum work on muggles?  He voiced this question, and was told,

"Veritaserum works on anyone, but it is slightly diluted in a muggle's case.  This is actually," the wizard looked slightly uncomfortable, "the first time we've used it on a muggle in a serious case.  But in all tests, it worked properly."

This could just mean one thing.  That Harry actually _had been out of his bed early in the morning.  But if that was true, then how?  Why?_

The wizard interrupted his musings.  "Mr. Potter, do you admit to being out the house at the time of the explosion?"

"No!  Well, I mean, I can't remember anything.  I thought I was sleeping, but-"

At his words, all the wizards in the room started whispering to each other rapidly.  They formed a sort of huddle and talked for about 30 seconds- among which the words "Lying", "Article- Daily Prophet", "Dark Lord", and "Imperious Curse" could be heard.

"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us."

And with that, he found himself surrounded by the wizards, one with a hand on his shoulder, and they all Disapparated.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            *          *          *          *          *

He found himself, two seconds later, in what once must have been a large white room, but was now in desperate need of a paint job, so looked more grey than anything.  It was furnished with a long table in the center, surrounded by a few chairs, and a line of metal desks sitting in the back of the room.  The whole sight, devoid of any warmth, was quite depressing.  It made Harry wonder exactly how much trouble he was in.

_At the same time, in Arabella Figg's home_

The old woman looked up, startled, and the faint 'pop' that was heard in her living room.

"Oh, Albus, I'm so glad you're here!  I don't know what to do- Harry's gone, the Harrises are dead, and I feel completely helpless!"

The wizened old man patted his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, but by the look in his face, he was quite at a loss.

"Come now, I'm sure Harry's all right.  It couldn't have been anyone other than Ministry wizards that apparated into his house.  No one else can, with the protection you've helped me put around it.  And where there's a wand, there's a wizard."  He mumbled the last words mostly to himself.

Arabella looked up at him, confused.  "Albus, what are you talking about?"

But the man was now standing up, the familiar twinkle in his eye that had been slightly dimmed back with full force.

"Albus?"

He started pacing back and forth, and it was clear he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.

"Perhaps we should go pay a visit to a certain Mr. Vernon Dursley."

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *            *          *          *          *          *

Mr. Vernon Dursley was, at the moment, sitting on a couch in his living room, staring at nothing at all.  His wife, having heard the commotion, had demanded to know what was going on- and was received with the most honesty from her husband she had ever experienced in all their years of marriage.  Terrified by this shocking revelation, she had been screaming at him, trying to knock some sense into him, but had given up and was now just sitting across from him, trying very hard to understand what on earth could have happened.  Dudley Dursley, having been awoken by his screaming mother, decided that, early as it was, this would be a perfect time to- you guessed it- eat.  Yes, the Dursley house was in quite an unusual state, but two things stood out the most.  The unwanted child of the family was, for once, exactly where he should be- nowhere to be found.  Mrs. Dursley, though pretending to be angry at his disappearance, was really quite relieved at the lack of the brat.  And as for the second difference, well, that came only a few seconds later, with a loud knocking at the door.

A/N- the beginning of this chapter wasn't very interesting, but, unfortunately, it was necessary.  The second half, however, was more amusing to write- and I think it might therefore have appeared a little more lighthearted than the beginning so far.  Well, in any case, thanks for reading.  How was Harry?  Good?  Bad?  Slightly believable?  Is anyone even reading this?

And if you even think about leaving this fic without taking 1 second to press that little button at the bottom of the screen, you've got another thing coming.  Another large thing, actually- I'm gonna sick Dudley on you!  Oh, yes, now you're scared!!!  Wow.  When did I start rambling so much????????  Please review- tips, anything, please!!!

And now kudos to my two FABULOUS reviewers- I love you I love you I love you I love you!!!!!!!

VyingQuill- Sorry about the paragraphs, I was trying to figure out how to get a web page on the fic…  Hahaha… is he lying… is Harry dreaming….  All will soon be revealed!!  (I love ur story!  It's on my favs ;)- and did you know they mentioned one of your stories in a column?  Can't remember which one though….

T.H.-   Thank you thank you thank you for reviewing mine!  And as for yours, the pleasure was all mine ;)  Hehe, the Weasleys are pretty nifty….


	3. The Helpless

_Disclaimer: Hahahahahaha!!!!  I'm rich!  I'm selling this story and there's nothing you can do about it!  And if you try to stop me, I'll just wave the nickel in your face!  Mwahahahahahaha!!  *sees scary men ringing doorbell* Er… Did I say sell?  I meant… Oh well, it stinks I can't sell this, by golly gee.  Ok I'll stop rambling now… I'll bet no one even read this…_

The _______s are found dead (_not the Dursleys!), and Harry is the prime suspect, with strong evidence against him.  He would be found innocent- if only he could remember where he was when the crime took place.  Self-doubt, suspicion, and terror reign as the world turns upside down- for more than just Harry Potter._

**Chapter 3**

**The Helpless**

Albus Dumbledore, and his friend, Ms. Arabella Figg, walked up the path of 4, Privet Drive.

Inside, Mrs. Petunia Dursley was pacing through the living room into the kitchen, and back, just waiting for something to happen.  She felt it in the air, she thought- but then snapped out of it.  That would insinuate magic.  She would never be insinuating anything abnormal.  Or subnormal.  Or-   There was a quiet knock on the door, interrupting her troubling thoughts.  This was it- she braced herself, and walked up to the window next to the door, peering out.  And breathed a sigh of relief.  What did that old bag want?  Sure, she had taken the brat off their hands every now and then- but what could she possibly be doing _here?  She opened the door-  and saw who – or __what - exactly was standing behind the old woman.  And fainted.  Not an elegant faint, either- or a dramatic faint, for that matter.  She just sort of keeled over._

"Oh dear me," said Albus Dumbledore, looking actually quite amused as he stepped past the unconscious woman into the house.  He was followed by a rather confused-looking Arabella Figg, wondering what exactly would be going on here tonight.

*          *          *

_Meanwhile, back in the scary-looking room…_

With a snap Harry realized that the chairs he had been looking at had people sitting in them.  They were all wearing grey, and rather blended into the room.  One of them gestured to the chair at the head of the table- the only one, Harry noticed, that was made of metal and seemed to be slightly broken.  He hesitantly stepped over and sat down.  The one who had motioned to him opened his mouth as if he was about to say something when the creaky door behind Harry opened.  He saw all the men jump up suddenly, and turned around.  He saw, to his great relief, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, entering the room.  

"Sir, what is-"

"Don't talk."  Fudge ordered superiorily.  Harry's mouth hung open, but he shook his head and quickly said,

"But, sir, I-"

"Do you really want me to tell you again?"  Fudge said, eyes blazing.  "Just sit."  With that, he strode to the chair opposite Harry and sat.  "Well, what have you found?" He spoke to the men.

One of them cleared their throat.  "Well, sir, the muggles are dead, but we were able to clear out the house before others came."  _Others?  Harry thought, confused.  "We went to inspect the house next door, his," the man jerked his head towards Harry "house.  The uncle told us he had been out of bed when the uncle had heard something and went to his room to- er- __politely," the man said as if he doubted Uncle Vernon could possibly be polite, "see if he knew anything about  it-" _

"There is always the possibility, though, Minister," said the man who had tried to talk to Harry earlier, shyly, "that the man was lying."

"Well, was he under Veritaserum?" the minister asked impatiently.

"Yes, sir, but-" 

"But what?  Veritaserum is faultless."

"But, sir, we've never really tried it on muggles-" 

At this point, Harry tried to lean forward and say something- when he saw he couldn't move.  Someone had lay a spell on him, binding him to the chair.

"Do you really think that he would lie?"  

Harry tried again to say something, but the head movement involved made the whole chair he was sitting in wobble, with him bound to it, and then crash over.  Blackness surrounded him as he thought no more.

*          *          *

Vernon Dursley looked up sleepily at the crash he heard in the entrance hallway.  When he saw the two strangers, he said "Banana" importantly and then went back off staring into space.

"Er- Albus?  Do you think he's all right?" asked Arabella Figg uncertainly.  "He looks-er- a little unstable."

Dumbledore furrowed his brow for a minute, and then whispered, "Veritaserum."  

"What?  What about Veritaserum?  Unless- no, did they give him some?"

"Mr. Dursley, what do you think about my hat?"

"Too pointy," Vernon replied without hesitation.

"Yes, indeed, he is under Veritaserum.  I've never seen him behave this pleasantly.  This should make our job much easier.  Unless-"

"Unless?" Figg asked, breathless.

"I'm just not sure Veritaserum has ever really been tested on muggles…"

"Well, how could that make any difference?"

"Veritaserum works mainly by taking out the resistance in a wizard's brain that might make them unwilling to answer any questions.  And, frankly, the muggle brain runs a bit differently.  I suppose we shall see!"

At that, Vernon suddenly looked up at Dumbledore and said, "Banana tart?"

"Oh dear..." mumbled Arabella under her breath, but waited to see what would happen next.****

Considering my reviews for chapter 2 were all from stories I had reviewed, and loved, I took the liberty of making them all links so you can go check their stories out!  No, I'm not insane, and no, I do have other things I *should* be doing, but I take care of people I care for J  - if you review me, I'll be nice to you too!!

Torrential Zephyr- I want to address your qualm (yes indeedy it is a great word!) that Harry was a bit out of character in the first chapter, but I have an explanation!  I agree that he was out-of-character, and I normally wouldn't do that unless 1) it fits the story better (not in this case- see 'The Auction' hehe), or 2) I have good reason.  I don't know how clear I made this in the first chapter, but Harry has been extremely deprived of social contact for most of the summer, and he is suddenly awoken in the middle of the night by an old woman who he's known for a while as the crazy lady next door, who turns out to be a witch.  Now, his reaction might've reflected on me, but when I'm woken up in the middle of the night (and it BETTER be for a good reason) and am told/see/hear something exciting, I just get extremely hyper.  And, since the thing Harry had probably been missing the most was any sign from the wizarding world, I think that his reaction would probably be something like that of a small child, when seeing what they want, they get very excited and don't shut up.  And I know Harry is usually more of the quiet type, but you'll have to bear with me!  I hope that cleared things up…?  

Ok, as for your questions- (dude, I should really be writing the STORY write now… I am such a procrastinator)  As for the first question, when Albus mentioned about the ministry wizards, you'll just have to wait and see!  Hehe I'm evil aren't I…  as for number 2- the Harrises were the neighbors of the Dursleys, but they're pretty muggly in my view….  J  And as for where the ministry wizards took Harry, assuming I cover that in this chapter (assuming meaning I haven't really gotten to that part…  or really any part… yet…. cuz…. yeah…. I, um…  well hopefully that part'll be mentioned!  Don't blame me, it's the HANDS!)

Wolfmoon- Thank you for explaining!   I really did try to figure out what the initials meant- but there was a slight problem.  You know that whole intelligence thing?       Well, I have none…

The Face of Evil- Why thank you!!!   That aptitude you mentioned took quite a lot of practice, because when I was at school, our teacher would always tell us not to write run-ons, or at least if we did write run-ons, to make them pretty run-ons, and at first I would always write the crummy run-ons, but then I started getting used to my run-ons, so I finally learned how to make nice and pretty run-ons!   Thank you, thank you, folks, I'll be here all week…

Jess Scefing- Oh I'm sorry!!!!!  I didn't mean for you to bounce off!!  NO!!!  WHY DO I ALWAYS CAUSE THESE THINGS!?!  *takes deep breath*  yeah, ok.  Well thank you!!

Also thank you to Meneharma!

A/N- this was actually a relatively fast update, for me.  I'm never quick about these things…


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